IntroductionBob
Carver, the creative force behind Sunfire Corporation, has been rocking
the audio world for the better part of three decades. Originally known
for his amplifiers, and later as the inventor of the first mini-cube
subwoofers, Carver now is shepherding the introduction of Sunfire’s
first A/V receiver. It seems like a natural for Sunfire to develop a
packaged brother to the widely-respected Theater Grand III A/V
Preamplifier and Cinema Grand Signature Amp. What better name for such
a product than the Ultimate Receiver, but can it live up to its own
hype?

The Sunfire Ultimate Receiver is a seven-channel audio/video receiver,
designed to perform at the same level as the better separates on the
market at a price tag of $4,195. I unboxed the Sunfire Ultimate
Receiver and was immediately impressed by its beautiful finish and
impressive metal work. I was surprised by its size or rather its lack
thereof. Considering its rated power of 200 watts x seven channels, I
expected a bigger and heavier piece of equipment. At 17 inches wide,
five-and-three-quarters inches high, 16.5 inches deep and weighing in
at 32 pounds, it’s definitely not the “ultimate” receiver in terms of
sheer mass, but as a man with a little receiver once said, size isn’t
everything.

SetupI
found the setup of the Ultimate Receiver to be refreshingly simple,
compared to past experiences I have had with receivers and high-end AV
preamps. I had the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver hooked up and running in
about 15 minutes. The layout on the back of the unit was intuitive and
easier to set up than most lower-end receivers. Once I had all of the
cables connected, it was just a matter of minutes before I had the
onscreen display configured and ready to go. The screen menus aren’t
exactly the cutting-edge GUI you see on some receivers, but they’re
easy to navigate and configure and the speaker configuration was a
piece of cake.

FeaturesThe Sunfire
Ultimate Receiver is a real looker. Its front panel has two round,
flush knobs for volume and source selection, an amber-colored array of
small lighted buttons and a large, soothing blue fluorescent LED
display for input selection, tuner frequency, volume level and other
features. At 200 watts x seven channels, the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver
has the distinction of being the most powerful receiver on the planet.
Those who know Sunfire are aware that these 200 watts carry a punch. At
a total rated output of 1,400 watts, the Sunfire is incredibly light
and weighs just 32 pounds. This is accomplished by using an unusually
efficient amplifier, which Sunfire calls a "tracking downconverter
power amp" (another catchy name), that combines smart circuits with
elements of switching-mode power supplies to eliminate much of the heat
and bulk of conventional amps. For the user who prefers surround modes
for two-channel sources, the options provided are Stereo, Dolby Pro
Logic II, Party, Jazz Club, DTS Neo:6 and Source Direct. Surround modes
for multi-channel sources include: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX,
DTS, DTS-ES Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete. One of my favorite features,
the Full Automatic Operation feature, will automatically switch to the
next input that starts to play. If you turn on your CD player and press
play, the receiver knows you have done so and automatically switches to
the CD input. The tuner is selected either by rotating the manual input
selector on the front panel, or by touching the Tuner button in the
remote’s Receiver mode. Tuner presets were unusually simple to program
and modify. If you have a pair of speakers in a second room, the
Sunfire Ultimate Receiver allows you to play a stereo source
independently of what is playing in the first room, so you can have two
separate parties going on at the same time, with two separate sources.

Besides an attractive face, the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver also has an
abundant rear panel with connectivity to suit almost any user. The back
panel includes seven speaker-level outputs with sturdy binding posts,
and line-level outputs to connect to other amplifiers. There are eight
channels of inputs for use with a DVD-Audio or SACD, as well as two
additional subwoofer outputs for a total of three. On the video side of
business, there are three wideband component-video inputs with dual
outputs. As would be expected, Sunfire has a unique set of outputs
called “side-axis” outputs. These outputs provide two optional front
side channels to complement the left, center, right, surround and
surround back channels.

The remote control included with the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver is
excellent. It’s a customized Home Theater Master MX-500 with a
LCD-screen and will control 10 audio/video devices (or your X10 home
automation system) by pressing one of the customizable component
buttons positioned around a brightly lit, customizable LCD display. Its
five-way joystick makes navigating menus easy. A separate "light"
button on the side activates the backlight every time you pick it up,
so you won't have to press a function button to activate it. It has a
sleek ergonomic design that allows the remote control to fit
comfortably in one hand, with a strategically placed joystick for easy
thumb navigation. All in all, it was a joy to use. Many manufacturers
pay little design attention to their remotes. This is inexcusable,
considering that the remote is the interface to your entire system.

The Music and the MoviesMy
current reference speakers, the Martin Logan Prodigys, Martin Logan
Theater and Martin Logan Aeons, are very difficult speakers to drive
with a wimpy amplifier. I was pleasantly surprised when the Sunfire
Ultimate Receiver didn’t go into meltdown when I jacked up the volume.
I started my listening session with Dave Matthews Band’s Busted Stuff.
The first song I listened to was “Digging a Ditch” (RCA Records). The
sound of Matthews’ voice had a very natural, open quality and the
Sunfire Ultimate Receiver produced a convincing soundstage. It wasn’t
quite the quality of my exponentially more expensive reference Krell
amplifier and processor combination($18,000 retail value), but it was
better than any receiver I have ever heard in my listening room by
leaps and bounds. Matthews’ vocals came alive as the receiver created a
seamless soundstage and as I turned the volume up, not only did the
receiver not hiccup, but it was able to drive my reference system to
surprisingly loud levels.

I next listened to Norah Jones’
Come Away With Me (Capitol Records) and her hit single of the same
name. Jones’ vocals have a very lush, full, palatable sound that is
easy on the ears. Her vocal tone and piano playing have a delicate,
natural quality that made me feel as if she were right there in the
room with me. The Sunfire Ultimate Receiver reproduced this reference
recording with good harmonic texture and its wide-open soundstage was
impressive. I’ve never been into digital sound processing for music,
but how could I review a Bob Carver design without using his
Holographic Image feature? When this circuit was engaged, it made the
soundstage seem both wider and deeper, and I had the feeling that I was
hearing deeper into the image. I had to keep reminding myself that I
was listening to a receiver and not a separate amplifier and
preamplifier combination.

The
last CD I listened to was Keb Mo’s self-titled CD and the song “Every
Morning” (Epic Records). Keb Mo’s vocals had a very open, natural
sound, with excellent soundstage width and depth. His guitar had proper
acoustic tonal balance with an airy quality. Every pluck of his guitar
was heard with very distinct accuracy. The bass was tight and accurate,
but as would be expected for a receiver, lacked some of authority and
slam of my reference Krell amplifier.

I moved on to
movie watching and started with “Minority Report” (DreamWorks), which
has a very aggressively mixed soundtrack and is probably Steven
Spielberg’s best film since “Saving Private Ryan.” All channels were
active for most of the movie and the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver created
a convincing, 360-degree soundfield that drew me in. John Williams’
incredible score was wonderfully rendered with a nice, open soundstage.
I was again surprised at this receiver’s ability to fill my large
listening room with sound and to drive my seven Martin Logan speakers
to beyond acceptable listening levels.

“Gangs
of New York” (Buena Vista Home Entertainment ) is a stunning visual
treat, as is typical of films directed by Martin Scorsese. Separation
across all channels was engaging, which made for an astoundingly rich,
three-dimensional experience. U2's soundtrack contribution, the song
"The Hands That Built America," sounded great, perfectly balanced in
the mix and with plenty of surround activity.

The DownsideThe
Sunfire Ultimate Receiver is difficult to fault, but at $4,195, it’s
definitely not inexpensive and there are clearly many alternatives,
including separates, in this price range. Bass and treble adjustment is
a standard feature on this and all other receivers, but additional
equalization settings with crossover adjustments for every channel
would be a welcome feature, including THX re-equalization for high
frequency roll-off of overly bright video sources.

ConclusionBob
Carver is well known in the audio industry for innovative products, but
he has really outdone himself this time. With a front as attractive as
Monica Bellucci and a rear as abundant as Jennifer Lopez, the Sunfire
Ultimate Receiver is a very attractive package. This lightweight
receiver is crammed with more technology than I would expect, even for
a Bob Carver design. It lives up to his standard of bullet-proof
designs with great sound and, considering it’s a receiver with so many
features, it’s a breeze to set up. I have never heard a receiver with a
more natural, open-sounding midrange or a more convincing soundstage
and I’ve definitely never known a receiver that could drive a complete
Martin Logan home theater to such ear-splitting levels with almost as
much authority as separate components.

At $4,195, it’s
a bit pricey for any receiver, especially one that could use improved
equalization features, but these are minor shortcomings for such an
outstanding design that has deservedly earned its name as the Ultimate
Receiver. I recommend this to anyone who wants the integration of a
receiver and the performance of comparably priced separates, or to
someone who simply wants to own some of Sunfire's magic in this price
range.